“News, reviews and opinions from the world of comics”Volume 11 #5 August 2007

Countdown to Booster GoldAll-New Booster Gold #1It seems that there are a lot of fans out there of the Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatties Justice League International (JLI) series from back in 1987. And why shouldn’t there be? JLI was funny, Kevin Maguire’s art was fantastic and it produced classic DC moments like Batman knocking out Guy Gardner with one punch. The book was obviously influential to many of today’s writers as evidenced by their references to that time period and the systematic deconstruction of everything about it. Seriously, if nobody liked JLI, its characters wouldn’t have played such impor-tant parts in mega-events like 52 and Infinite Crisis. The mainstays of the entire JLI run, Blue Beetle and Booster Gold, were major players in the events that shaped the DCU over the last couple of years. Who would have thought that was going to happen, right? Well it’s not over yet as this month we get the start of an all-new Booster Gold series appropriately titled All-New Booster Gold.

So you’re probably asking why you should care about some spin-off from 52. Most comics that get launched out of big cross-overs are due to die an ugly death right? JLI was just a spin-off from Legends right? Mighty Avengers is just a spin-off of Civil War right? See? There are times that spin-offs count and All-New Booster Gold should be one of them. Written by Geoff Johns (52, JSA, Green Lantern) and featuring art by Dan Jurgens, All-New Booster Gold promises to answer many of the questions raised by the re-creation of the Multiverse. In the series, Booster

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All you really need to know though is that the stories in All-New Booster Gold are going to count. This isn’t some throw-away concept and, with Johns at the helm, you can be sure that major events play out in these pages. Just look at the characters shown on the cover to the first issue: Barry Allen, Robin of Earth II, JLI-era Guy Gardner, Jonah Hex, Mr. Mind, and Robin from The Dark Knight Returns. That’s a pretty good line-up for just the first cover and there is surely more to come. Make sure to check out All-New Booster Gold #1.

Daredevil #100Every few months we’re presented with a reason to urge you to read Daredevil. It’s been something of an amazing journey for this title. It’s still a little strange to hear some-body tell you that Daredevil is one of the very best titles on the shelves,

but that’s been the case for years now. The work Brian Bendis did on the series easily rivals the epic Frank Miller run (shhh…it may actually be better). And then the news came that Bendis was leaving Daredevil and it was simple to assume that the fun was over. But Ed Brubaker seamlessly picked up right where Bendis left off and took the series to yet another level. We’re not kidding about any of this – superhero fan or not, you are seriously missing out if you are not reading Daredevil every month.

So to those of you not on board yet, may we recommend Daredevil #100. This issue is the beginning of Ed Brubaker and artist Michael Lark’s third story arc, but you should be able to jump right in. As extra incentive, Daredevil #100 is 104-pages and features guest art by John Romita Sr., Gene Colan, Lee Bermejo, and Alex Maleev. Oh yeah, it’s also got the New Avengers and a ton of bad guys. What more could you really want?

is teamed with Rip Hunter as they desperately try to prevent the DCU’s past and future from being destroyed. Booster will become a hero during some of the most impor-tant times in history, but will anybody ever know the role he’s played? Prob-ably not, but that’s part of the fun of this series considering how important fame is to Booster.

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Outsiders: Five of a KindSo Batman is putting his Outsiders back together. This weekly event (good thing there are five Wednesdays this month) sees Batman picking a new team member in each issue. I’m really pulling for Metamorpho in week four. Also on sale this month is Showcase Presents: Batman and the Outsiders Vol. 1 TP, in case you’re feeling nostalgic for the last time Batman had Outsiders.

Avengers Classics #3How did I miss the first two issues of this series? Dwayne McDuffie retelling classic Avengers stories with painted art by Mike Oeming (Powers) AND covers by Art Adams? Count me in! By the way, keep an eye on McDuffie who is the man responsible for the legendary Justice League animated series as he gets set to take over the JLA comic in a few months.

Wolverine Origins #16I’d read an entire series about Logan and Captain America fighting together during WWII, so it should come as no surprise that I’m excited for this 5-part

flashback to the pair’s early years. This will be great except for the part where you’re supposed to keep a straight face when Logan says he’s a secret agent for the Canadian government. Oh, what Marvel writers would give to go back in time and make Wolverine British. Or Scandinavian.

Terror, Inc. #1 (of 5)David Lapham (Stray Bullets, Detective Comics) makes great comics. He won an Eisner to prove

it. Terror, Inc. is about – get this – Mr. Terror who is fifteen and a half centuries old and doomed to decompose for all of eternity. He has to replace his limbs with fresh parts, except for right arm which is made up of an enchanted metal

that houses the essence of his dead sweetheart.

And he runs a detec-tive agency. How can you not want to read something with that

kind of a description? It’s also a Max book, so

expect plenty of sex, violence and gross decomposition. It’s like a Jerry Bruckheimer zombie movie.

Punisher #50Look – I know we hype this book every month. But this story arc is really, really special. It’s the rematch between The Punisher and Barracuda, and the stakes are higher than you could ever imagine. Seriously – don’t miss out on the last page of this issue or the next 5-issues.

Special Forces #1 (of 6)Kyle Baker isn’t known for pulling his punches when it comes to polit-ical commentary so the fact that this

series is based on the true story of an 18-year-old autistic boy from Oregon who was recruited into the army suggests that things might get a little biting. Keep in mind though that Baker is one of the best cartoonists of this generation, and that he’s also funny as hell. Don’t be surprised to see this series winning all sorts of awards next year.

Action Comics #855Uh, Eric Powell (The Goon) art on a 3-part Bizarro story…really nothing else needs to be said.

Dark Horse Comics OmnibusesOmnibuses? Is that the plural of “omnibus?” Either way, these collec-tions from Dark Horse are quite the deal. Clocking in at around 450-pages each, these collections cover vast amounts of history for the Star Wars and Aliens vs. Predator comics…both of which are better than you think they are. Unless you think they’re really good. Then they’re as good as you think they are. The end.

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Ah, the summer does indeed suck. When you’re a kid it’s all camp and being released into your parents custody, but as an adult it’s all work and posting bail. Entertainment has been real hit or miss this summer. The summer movies have been good (thanks Die Hard IV!) and the summer movies have been bad (looking at you Spider-Man 3). The summer comics have been mostly good (Countdown, JLA, World War Hulk, Barracuda) and as always the summer mail has been interesting. Let’s kill off the rest of August with some mail from you, the reader.

Q: Since it was revealed in New Avengers that Elektra was a Skrull, does that mean more char-acters in the Marvel U are Skrulls too? If so, who? And when exactly did they take Elektra? And what did they do with her? Does this mean that all the out-of-character stuff that happened during Civil War is due to the fact that a bunch of people are really Skrulls? Is Iron Man a Skrull? Was the Captain America that got shot a Skrull? What exactly is a Skrull?

A: One thing is certain in the aftermath of the big Elektra = Skrull revelation – there are a lot of unanswered questions. To be honest, I heard the news before I read that issue of New Avengers. When I saw the page where the Elektra/Skrull is lying dead on

Catching Up On Reader Mailthe floor, and nobody says “Hey it’s a Skrull!” I thought to myself, “Huh. If I didn’t know that was a Skrull, I’d be wondering why Elektra turned into a zombie

when she died.” It just wasn’t that clear what was going

on, with no exposi-tion, or no Internet. On one hand, this is certainly a very fun ride being set up by one of the

best writers in the industry. On the other

hand, this could be some shady slight of hand in terms

of continuity. As I understand it, Bendis had this Skrull thing planned from before Civil War, but it is an amazingly convenient way to undo a lot of what’s been done to the Marvel U in the last year. Either way, I’m hooked and can’t wait to see where this is all going.

Q: World War Hulk is awesome.

A: You see – that’s not really a question. That’s a statement, albeit one I totally and absolutely agree with. Way back when Planet Hulk got started, I thought it was a cheesy idea. Then I started reading the issues, and I couldn’t wait for the next one. The thing that’s awesome about Planet Hulk and World War Hulk is that the set-up was flawless. The Hulk gets shot into space by the Illumi-nati, then is absent during Civil War, and by the time he gets back,

you’re totally rooting for him to kick the crap out of the Illumi-nati because of what he’s been through and the fact that they’ve been total jerks the whole time he’s been gone. Although I guess maybe they were acting that way because they were Skrulls, but any way you look at it Marvel did a great job of handling this story and then working it back into the main story lines. Even if they hadn’t done all of that, the action in World War Hulk would be worth the price of admission alone.

Q: Last month you were talking about that doctor in Florida who got arrested for groping two women at a bar crawl while he was dressed like Captain America. To make matters worse, when the cops got him back to jail they found drugs and a Taco Bell burrito hidden in his pants. What happened to that guy?

A: What happened to him? He got off without so much as a mark on his permanent record. If I got arrested for doing half of that stuff, I’d be in an orange jumpsuit picking up trash on the side of the highway. I guess good lawyers can get you out of a pinch. You’d be surprised by how many people asked me what kind of burrito he was packing when they heard the story. All we know is that it was from Taco Bell. I’m not clear on whether it was a 7-Layer, Fiesta, Spicy Chicken, Grilled Stuft, or maybe just something off the

Value Menu. These questions will continue to haunt me until next year when this dude gets arrested for the same thing while dressed up like Iron Man with a Chalupa under his helmet.

Q: The other night I caught myself making fun of a family member for going to get the new Harry Potter book at midnight at a store where people were going to be in costume, and then I real-ized that at the last comic show I was at I saw a dude in a He-Man costume complete with chest-plate and loincloth. Isn’t there a difference between Harry Potter mania and the more exuberant fans at comics shows?

A: Ah, this is a really good example of not throwing stones when you live in a glass house full of alphabetized comic boxes. All things being equal, there is no difference between the Harry Potter fans, the Star Wars fans, the Trekkies, Cosplayers at Anime shows, the people in costume at comic shows, people at the renais-sance fair, people who reenact the Revolutionary War (or any war), and fans of the band Kiss. If the something that you love requires that you dress up in elaborate costumes – so be it. It’s certainly better than not having a hobby. Sure you might be pushing it a little too far, but we’re not gonna stomp all over your fun…except for maybe the renaissance fair people…a line has to be drawn somewhere.

Big Planet Orbit Volume 11 #5; August 2007 is published by Joel Pollack, Peter Casazza and Jared Smith for Big Planet Comics. www.bigplanetcomics.com.

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Monsters of Rock ComicsThis month sees the release of The Umbrella Academy, a new limited series by Gerard Way who happens to be the singer for My Chemical Romance. It’s pretty easy to pick on this guy, but he seems to have a genuine appreciation for good comics (he mentions Grant Morrison and Alex Toth as influences for whatever it’s worth) and the James Jean covers for the series are pretty awesome. So we’re going to give Gerard the benefit of the doubt while we wait to read The Umbrella Academy. Instead let’s look at the top-five worst comics featuring musicians:

5 – Wu-Tang Clan: The Nine Rings Of Wu-TangFar be it from us to make fun of any comic starring the real life Ghostface Killah, but it’s

not exactly like this series set a new standard for comics about rapping Shaolin monks. Well I guess it did since there was no old standard for comics about rapping Shaolin monks…but you get the point.

4 – The Cryptic Writings of MegadethThe band most famous for being fronted by the guy that got kicked out of Metal-

lica right before they made it big makes our list

with the most convoluted of these projects. This series wasn’t based on the band members (since comics about getting drunk and crying are boring), but on their lyrics. That’s right – stories based on the lyrics to the songs on the album “Killing Is My Business…And Business Is Good.” Dudes with mullets were psyched.

3 – Insane Clown Posse: The PendulumThe Pendulum is a series of comic books based upon the Dark Carnival universe, envi-sioned by the Insane Clown Posse. Do you really need to

know anything else?

2 – Kiss: A Marvel Comics Super SpecialNot only was comic this printed with ink made from the band member’s actual blood (which in 1977 contained three new strains of Hepatitis), but it was also the first of what would be an endless supply of crappy Kiss merchandise. This is where it all started.

1 – Revolutionary Comics: Rock N’ Roll ComicsRevolutionary Comics presented a series of autobiographical comics about tons of bands. Their claim to fame was that they bypassed comic shops and sold directly to stores at the mall. Thanks Revo-lutionary Comics for introducing a whole generation of people to comics that were no better than a terribly drawn version of the history of Bon Jovi.

Hello and welcome back to what is at least the fourth or fifth most popular column in the Big Planet Orbit, Indyville! There are some sweet books coming out this month, so let’s hop to it!

I Killed Adolf Hitler by JasonJason is not a man of many words. Over the course of approximately “a whole bunch” of graphic novels he has managed to tell great stories almost purely with his clean, straight-forward art style. So, when I heard his new graphic novel was about a guy traveling back in time to kill Hitler I was intrigued. You should be, too.

Multiple Warheads #1by Brandon Graham

The recent American-produced manga by B. Graham, King City, somehow slipped right past me. His new book, Multiple Warheads, suffered no such fate.

A ker-azy futuristic tale about werewolves, organ smuggling and awesomeness in general. So awesome. Seriously, it’s awesome.

Tekkonkinreet (Black & White)by Taiyo MatsumotoNo 5, Blue Spring and now Tekkonkinreet. Shamefully, that’s everything in print at the moment from Japa-nese Moebius fanboy Taiyo Matsumoto. Trust me, I mean the M o e b i u s thing as a compliment. Sure, he apes M o e b i u s ’ style, but he does it well. Really well. So buy this. And buy Blue Spring as well. I lied about No 5, though. You can’t buy it anymore. It’s out of print. See what I mean! It went out of print while I was writing this!